


Shell

by Firehedgehog



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gods, Inks is an idiot, error, lost souls - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-09-24 09:42:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 8,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20356396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firehedgehog/pseuds/Firehedgehog
Summary: Ink once had a soul, and control not to go crazy creating. Error had been born from a lost soul, a shell to keep it safe. Yet... really Ink... your making this harder.Crossposted on Ao3





	1. Prologue: Souls

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this during a stupid heat wave, too hot to concentrate on my normal stories

The Creator was alone, had always been alone.

He'd create and watch the new AU's new awe, he loved them all but he couldn't connect to them.

He didn't have a name, but some of his creations had nicknamed him Ink when they met due to the fact he usually focused his power through Ink and paint.

Not that they knew he was there god.

Make a note of that little g, as he was only the creator of this multiverse and there were higher gods.

He used the anti-void as a staging area, as it contained any mistakes he made.

Sighing he concentrated on his next creation, he wanted a friend to stay with him but he couldn't seem to make it quiet right.

Maybe he needed a soul to start with to make it work.

It was when he was concentrating on the type of soul he wanted that he made a mistake.

The soul was too close to his own, it exploded.

But the magic as still in effect, and his soul was the only one near enough the spell detected.

Lets just make it clear, the only reason Ink survived his soul being ripped from him was due to his godhood, but the backlash banishing him from the anti-void.

Ink landed in an unfinished world he'd been working on on the side, soulless and the shock stealing the memories from him.

The thing is, the soul was still in the anti-void.

It needed a shell, a place to keep it safe till it could be returned to Ink.

Return to sender one soul please.

A new monster was born, a new god.. of what hadn't been decided yet. The form was warped, as the anti-void caused his form to.. error.

"_**Creator?"**_ Error said bewildered, he had a duty but clue where the now soulless being was.

Of course Ink began to create again, but with his memories sealed from the shock of soul loss and no soul he had no reason to stop creating, not remembering that the multiverse had limited space.

He couldn't even remember how to enlarge the multiverse.

"_**Aw come on, you making so many and I can't enlarge the multiverse. Don't make me to this creator,"**_ Error said annoyed.

The thing is while Error was a Shell, he was the part of the creator Ink lost, while he didn't have teh memories he still knew the Duty.

"_**Gah.. fine I'll be the Destroyer you idiot,"**_ Error grumped, at this rate he'd never get themselves back where they belonged.


	2. Chapter One: Scream into the Void

"This.. is getting annoying," Error said, laying face down on the 'ground' of the anti-void.

Ink had been going crazy creating, and he'd been forced to destroy twenty today.

Worse the other Sans had joined in yet another attack against him, damaging his body enough for him to retreat. Thankfully being the shell for the creators soul made him heal fast, it didn't make it easier though.

He'd kept up his duty to keep the multiverse from collapsing by destroying the ones about to cause the issues, he really wished he had Ink's ability to enlarge the multiverse so he wouldn't have to.

He was so tired, he wasn't suppose to exist.

He yearned to go home.

Home was Ink.

Yet... for some reason he couldn't force the creator's soul back to where it belonged.

He'd had Ink unconscious a few times, and tried to return the soul.. but the rebound had bounced him back to the anti-void.

It was frustrating, so he could only return to his duty till he found a way to get the soul where it belonged.

He actually long ago tried just giving the soul to Ink, explaining it.

Rejected, Ink rejected his own soul.

Not that Squid brain remembered it.

Why was the Creator such an IDIOT without a soul.

He gave a muffled scream of frustration.

"Just one day Creator, just one!" Error begged, at this rate the Creators soul would never be returned because Ink was an idiot.

"Hey Error," a cheerful voice said.

"Hey Blue, escaped your AU again I see," Error said still face down.

"Yeah, three genocides in a row then a no mercy. Nightmare of all people gave me a ride here," Blue said, laying down beside him looking at the string coloured 'sky' of the anti-void.

"Fun," Error said dryly.

"Still having issues trying to get Ink alone while Destroying the Au's to return his soul?" Blue asked.

Error rolled over and screamed into the anti-void, the voice screamed back.

"I have new knitting needles for you," Blue said, pulling Error away from those thoughts.

"Thanks, they start freaking out in whatever AU I go to to buy them," Error said a bit more happier.

"I'm going to miss this you know.." Blue said softly.

"Why?" Error asked confused.

"Because no matter what your my friend, and if you ever succeed.. you cease to exist.. no one in the know.. well knows how much of you will exist once Ink regains his soul," Blue replied unhappily.

"I know Blue, but its my duty and the Creator was never meant to be like this," Error said.

"I don't want to say goodbye," Blue cried, because either way he'd loose his friend.

"I don't want to either," Error whispered.


	3. Chapter two: Overdone

The soul was upside down like all monster souls, but instead of white or one colour its was an always moving rainbow that made one want to gape and stare in awe, that's wasn't taking in the golden aura that swirled around that signified godhood.

It was in quiet moments Error would stare at it, this was the reason he existed.

Thankfully the souls magic prevented others from pulling it out, or checking the stats of the soul.

Oh they could check Error, but all they would get would be mangled errored stats.

He existed but also didn't exist.

He wondered what would happen once this once again rested in Ink, probably he'd cease to be as the creator had many friends now and had no reason to let him to stay after the destruction he did.

Taking a deep breath Error returned the soul to its protective soul, moments later he opened a portal to yet another copy of an AU.

This really needed to end, the AU's ere getting more depressing and less creative as time went on.

OoOoO

The plan.. wasn't so much a plan really.

Stretch had no clue how many times they'd used the empty AU ploy to attack Error.

Not that Error fell for it, he trashed them and wondered off.

Blue looked like he had a migraine, really everyone was just tired of this plan.

From there hiding spot, he could see Ink and Dream plotting.

"Here he comes!" Ink called, they all tensed.

Error stepped out of a portal moments later, bone brows rose and the destroyer actually face palmed.

'_Huh, so were not the only one tired of this plan'_ Stretch thought amused.

"_**Really Inky,"**_ Error said dryly.

"Prepare to be stopped Error, your destruct stop here!" Ink yelled coming out.

"_**Can we get a new line, and pay for a vowel,"**_ Error said yawning.

Blue snorted, clearly recognizing the line from somewhere.

"Wait... what?" Ink said confused.

"_**Squid for Brains, I\m out"**_ Error muttered, and walked back through the portal not even pretending to fight.

Blue fell over laughing.

(Because every writer has to play up the empty AU plan)

OoOoO

"He used that ploy again!" Geno said in disbelief.

"_**I know right,"**_ Error told the other skeleton.

"Broski, so unrad," Fresh said, looking amused at it.

"Blue must have been trying not to laugh when you left, was Reaper there?" Geno asked, doing his best not to laugh as his 'so not a crush.'

"_**Reaper wasn't about this time, but he's pretty busy,"**_ Error said idly.

"Sorry I'm late," Blue said cheerfully, seemingly just appearing in the save screen.

"You know, sooner or later there going to realize our little gossip circle here," Geno said.

They all paused and thought on it.

"Nah," was the general response, after all they'd been doing this for years.


	4. Chapter three: Calm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was suppose to be more serious, then it turned into humor. ah well..enjoy

"Duncle Error," a voice called, Error paused and allowed a rare smile to come to his face.

"_**Hello Brats,"**_ he said, and allowed the small forms of Charas, Betty's and Frisk to gather around him.

"Can you tell us a story," a Chara whispered from the back, this was the Chara of Reapertale.

"_**Sure, Blue gave me a few new books,"**_ Error said, and allowed himself to be happy surrounded by Children Victim Broken stories.

OoOoO

"Blue.." Stretch drawled out, as he dug through there storage.

"Yes Papy?" Blue said cheerfully.

"I thought we had some old books in here," Stretch said frowning.

"Books?" Blue said thoughtfully smiling, his eyes closed.

Stretch paused.

"You know what, I don't want to know. Not like they won't respawn with the next reset," Stretch said putting the boxes back and fled, that smile... he really didn't want to know what Blue thought so funny.

Blue giggled once his brother was far enough away.

Now and then, creeping out others was hilarious.

OoOoO

"Something shifted in the force," Ink said suddenly.

"Ow," Ink shouted, leaning away from dream who had hit him with a book.

"I told you to stop watching Star wars," Dream said, he swore Ink wanted to be a jedi.

"But.." Ink began.

"No," Dream said.

"I think we need to see Blue," Ink said.

"No, and I mean it. Today is a day to relax," Dream said with a glare Nightmare would have been proud of.

"But Error migh..." he stopped talking, taking in the glare, and the determined away Dream was holding onto a rather large book.

"Right, we were watching House hunters right?" Ink said.

"House Haunters Ink," Dream replied.

"Right, back to watch people being haunted," Ink said and settled back to relax.

OoOoO

"Error stole my chocolate again," Cross moaned, discovering that the Destroyer had found his latest stash.. again.

"You know he can sniff them out like a blood hound," Nightmare said not really paying attention, flipping a page in his book.

"But this was limited edition chocolate from an AU that doesn't exist," Cross whined.

"Take it up with Error," was Nightmares general response.

This happened so often he could respond in his sleep, and yes he had done it before.

Cross sighed, knowing that Error would just give him sad eyes and he'd fold.

How the heck did the Destroyer have puppy dog eyes like that.

Just so not fair.

He would have been horrified to know that if Ink had his soul the puppy dog eyes were better.

OoOoO

"Bye Duncle Error," Chara said, as the happy crowd of children heading off.

Error placed the books in his inventory, the last few hours had been relaxing.

He didn't often get time for things like that, his duty keeping him too busy.

"_**Right.. now wheres my list on things to try to get Ink to take his soul back,"**_ Error said digging in his pocket, he was running out of ideas.

And getting desperate.


	5. Chapter Four: Calculation

"I just don't understand," Ink said bewildered.

"I'm sure Error will destroy the Au later... if it makes you feel better," Dream said dryly, he had no clue why Ink was upset Error hadn't entered this new Au to destroy it.

"But its perfect, he'll make mountains of friends," Ink pouted like a two year old.

"There there," Dream said patting the gods back.

"Hug!"

"Hug Hug!"

This AU gave him the creeps, everyone kept hugging each other and kept saying hug.

He hadn't heard one word other then hug.

Ink did remember Error had a touch Phobia right, and would avoid this AU like a plague.

He could almost hear Error giving this AU a Huge NOPE!

"Don't worry, Error is doing to destroy it from outside," a amused voice said, turning they saw Reaper standing there grinning with Glee.

"Aw come on Error," Ink protested swiping the air with his paintbrush, allowing himself and Dream to escape the AU in hope of finding Error.

"Wow, this place is creepy," Reaper said with a shiver.

He was not looking forward to gathering these souls.

OoOoO

"Brosky the AU wasn't that bad," Fresh said, taking in the shivering Error as he deleted the code from outside not caring it caused more pain to those in the AU.

_**"All the hugs..." **_Error whimpered, he muttered under his breath and Fresh swore he heard Error say something about billions of teletubbies.

"Dawg... teletubbies, not cool man," Fresh said, eh might be a 90's cool guy but he wouldn't force the teletubbies on anyone.

((what can one say, those things give me Nightmares))

OoOoO

If someone had entered the anti-void at that moment, they would have been shocked and awed.

Error was floating high in the air an aura of colors around him, his eyes were black code flying over them.

A whispery voice, not the anti-void voices came around him.

Computing Universal Errors...

Point 0.00000001

Status: Good

Timeline till ((Error)) : unknown

Soul Status: Stable

Shell State: ((Error))

"Timeline to next AU destruction?" Error asked, his voice not glitching and sounding a lot like Inks.

Alternate Universe Collision: Ten days

Universe: DreamSwap Copy 3104

"Ten days... not bad," Error said, it had been years since he had that much time.


	6. Chapter Five: Hammer Time

"Error..." Blue said dryly.

"_**Yes Blue?"**_ Error said his concentration not wavering.

"That's my hammer," Blue finally said.

"_**I know,"**_ Error said, playing with what could only be called a war hammer.

"The Hammer Ink took from me because I kept breaking things, and locked away with his magic," Blue said slowly.

"_**I**__**know, its an awesome hammer,"**_ Error smirked.

"How did you even get it?" Blue asked bewildered.

"_**Raided the Star Sans base, Inks magic doesn't actually block me due the fact I'm part of him," **_Error said gleefully.

"That's such a cheat," Blue protested.

Error cackled.

"Come on Error, give it to me! I never got to have much fun with it," Blue begged.

"_**Finders Keepers,"**_ Error said, then fled.

"ERRROR!!!!"

OoOoO

"Our base got broken into," Dream said shocked, the place had been hidden in a pocket dimension by Inks Magic.

"Who Stole my Chocolate," a voice wailed elsewhere in the building.

"Mines gone also!" another Sans yelled.

"My Ketchup is fine," Classic said lazily.

"Shut up Classic!" Fell yelled.

It took several hours to notice the vault was broken into also.

Inks eye twitched, several facts added up.

The chocolate.

The fact Blue seemed to have a weird friendship with him.

The darn war hammer that destroyed two of his statues.

His eye twitched again.

"Damn it Error!" He yelled, and stormed out via an paint portal.

"Huh... I thought the chocolate would give it away," Classic said watching Ink vanish.

"Not the hammer," Dream cried, that thing was evil he swore.

OoOoO

"Aw come on," Blue said, they'd been playing keep away for hours in the anti-void each taking turns with the Hammer.

"_**..."**_ Error said pausing, long enough for Blue to grab it.

"Hah!" Blue said happily, then paused also.

"HOOOOOW......" a voice hissed.

"_**Inky?"**_ Error said a sweat drop slipping down his skull.

Seconds later Ink appeared, rising up from a paint portal like a demented horror movie.

"How did you get into my base!" Ink snarled eye images red.

"Error?" Blue asked nervously.

"_**Run,"**_ Error said.

And they did.

OoOoO

"Hey Broski can I...." Fresh paused and stared.

Error and Blue running crazy speeds from Ink, Ink was running after them holding his brush in.. a scary way.

Yeah he wasn't going to think on Inks movements.

"Nope.. I'm outtie here," he said and turned to leave.

"And where do you think your going," a voice said, a hand hard on his shoulder.

Fresh laughed nervously, even a parasite like him knew when it was a bad situation.

"Sorry, gotta go," a voice called, Fresh was grabbed by Error and Blue.

"Dude, nutso," Fresh said as he joined in the game of keep away from Ink.

"Uncool man," Fresh said, he'd only wanted to borrow a puppet shaped like himself.

"_**You can borrow it later," **_Error said dryly while dodging paint, it wasn't reading his mind as Fresh kept stealing... er.. borrowing puppets that look like himself.

"Run faster," Blue cried.

OoOoO

Dream paused rewarding the Vault.

Ink had been missing for hours.

"That idiot," Dream moaned, looks like he had a wayward god to grab.

He bet Ink took one the darker paints too.

Why couldn't his crush be sane.

A soul would probably help too.

OoOoO

Ink prowled the anti-void, a scowl on his face.

Error watched this with disbelief, the creator was still on the warpath five hours after he appeared.

At the moment the trio was hiding in the ever present strings above, using the multiple souls to hide there own souls.

Blue was passed out, hugging a G!sans plushy his hammer loosely in hand.

"_**Hmmm.."**_ Error mused thoughtfully.

"Oh.. what cha doing?" Fresh whispered as Error grabbed Blue's hammer.

"Eh... Error," Blue yawned waking up.

"_**Going try a stupid idea to return the soul and stop this,"**_ Error said, and summoned his soul.

The other two looked at the soul in awe, it really was amazing.

And stuffed the soul into the hammer.

Now in a normal monster this would dust them, but Error wasn't a normal monster at all.

"There you are Error, done hiding are we," Ink said.

"_**Sorry for the wait,"**_ Error said, and swung.

Ink was expecting strings not a hammer, Hammer Ink and Error met all at once.

The world exploded.

OoOoO

"INK!" Dream yelled, having walked in at the scene of the explosion.

"I hope there okay," Blue said jumping down from above.

"Too much Drama," Fresh sighed and vanished.

The two could only wait.

OoOoO

When the Hammer hit, Ink actually went into shock.

For the hammer contained his soul, not that he knew that.

For a moment.. he'd felt as if he'd come home

Then the world exploded and the hammer was forced back.

And the horrid emptiness returned, and darkness claimed him.

Tears slipped down his unconscious face.

Hours later he would wake up back home, a concerned Dream leaning over him.

Now and then his hands pressed against his chest, where the hammer had pressed.

What exactly had happened?


	7. Chapter Six: Empty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All Praise Snow! Beta Goddess

“_**Oww...”**_

“That looks painful, but still, awesome backlash,” Blue said to the groggy Error.

“Spectacular!” Fresh said, far too loudly.

“_**Don’t speak, sounds hurt,”**_ Error managed to work past his aching jaw.

“Just rest, Error,” said Blue, right as Error fell back into blissful unconsciousness.

OoOoO

Dream was getting concerned. Ever since he’d retrieved Ink from the disaster that was the latest ‘battle’ with Error, Ink had been pacing. The Creator had the strangest frown on his face, and seemed bothered by something.

“Dream...” Ink said in a strange tone of voice.

“Yes, Ink?” Dream responded.

“Did anything happen to me, other then being knocked unconscious?” The Creator asked, pausing in his pacing to turn and face his friend.

“Not that I could tell, and I checked you over carefully,” Dream responded “Is... everything okay?”

“Yes... no... I don’t know,” Ink said, obviously bothered by whatever was going on.

“Hey now, relax, okay? We’ll figure out what’s bothering you,” Dream promised. Walking over to his friend, he placed his hands on Ink’s shoulders, and began channeling his positive aura towards the soulless skeleton. Ink began to calm under his touch, and he could sense that the Creator’s mood was becoming more stable.

“I just feel so... empty,” said Ink. “I haven’t felt like this for a very long time.”

“Did you forget your vials?” Dream asked.

“No, I’ve started writing down when I take them after the last incident,” said Ink, checking the notes on his scarf to make sure.

Dream hugged his first true friend gently. If he had his way, _everything_ would end up alright.

OoOoO

His head was still aching as if Ink had hit it with Broomie- his giant paintbrush- but at least Error found that he could function now.

Or at least much as he functioned anyway.

Which some days really wasn’t much.

Sighing, he hefted the blaster hammer a bit. Despite the soul having returned to its relative safety within Error, the hammer had a slight rainbow shimmer to it- the same color Ink’s magic would be, _if_ the Creator had his soul back.

‘_Having the soul in it actually upgraded its stats,_’ he thought disbelievingly. It was dangerous enough before, now anyone who got on Blue’s bad side was in even bigger trouble.

“Feeling any better?” Blue asked, watching the glitchy skeleton rub his skull right between his eye sockets.

“_**Still hurts, but I’m recovering,” **_he sighed. As Blue watched, he pulled out the list of ‘Possible Ways to Return The Soul’ and scratched off the bullet point labeled ‘Blaster Hammer’.

“Darn, it didn’t work! That was one of the super random ideas we wrote years ago, long before you rescued my hammer,” said Blue, sighing disappointedly.

“_**For a moment we connected, if we’d had a moment longer, he might have accepted. But he didn’t. So instead we got massive, not to mention **___**painful**___**, backlash,”**_ Error grumbled.

Blue gently patted the Destroyer on the back, trying to comfort him.

“Yes, it failed, but it almost worked. We’ll get it right next time, I’m sure of it!” Blue exclaimed, his starry eyes glowing even brighter than usual.

“_**I hope so,”**_ Error replied, sadness weighing down his words.

Now, if only that pesky migraine would go away.

OoOoO

—A few days later—

Dream was on a mission.

A self-assigned one, of course.

But it was still very important. He stared at the door to the skelebro’s house in a certain AU. Sighing, he forced himself to move, and knocked firmly.

Moments later, the door opened to reveal Blue, who stared at him with a sad smile.

“I had a feeling you’d be coming,” said Blue, motioning for the guardian of positivity to come in.

“I need to know what exactly is going on,” said Dream, following Blue into the house.

Blue closed the door behind them and ushered him into the living room. By the look of things, the starry-eyed Sans had just gotten home.

“_**It’s not a happy story,”**_ said a staticky voice. A familiar glitched skeleton sat up from where they’d been laying.

“ERROR!?!” Dream yelled in shock.


	8. Chapter Seven: I am thou... Thou art I... From the sea of thy soul, I come...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again snow! and pretty much co-writer on some scenes really and the chapter name quote is taken from Persona. The poem before the story is mien though

_I was born in a moment_

_A tragedy_

_A moment that should have been joyful_

Torn asunder

_Ying from Yang_

_Soul from its sea embrace_

_I am thou... Thou art I... From the sea of thy soul, I come..._

_Shattered and rebuilt_

_I seek the sea_

_My home_

_My shelter_

_But the waves force me away_

_Waving me away_

_Take me home cold sea_

_Soul and sea once more_

Ink sat in the Doodle sphere, not drawing or peering into the AUs.

He was sitting down on the overly vibrant green grass, his eyelights dim, barely a step from being blank.

Why did it still hurt, why did he feel even more empty then usual?

He hadn’t taken his paint vial... but he knew it wasn’t just that.

But why?

OoOoO

The situation Dream found himself in could only be described as weird.

Yes, weird was the word he would use.

Why, for the love of the Stars, was the Destroyer at Blue’s place?

He found himself in a comfy chair that was so plush that one simply melted into it, it was a lovely light blue in color and so very cozy. Maybe if he asked, Blue would tell him where he got it, because he _wanted_ one.

Error was still on the couch, but now Blue had joined him there, and the petite blue-bandanna’d Sans... was using the dark-boned destroyer as a teddy bear.

Wait, didn’t Error have haphephobia- the fear of being touched?

The silence was definitely getting rather awkward though.

“Zzz... snort... zzz...”

“Did... Blue just fall asleep?” Dream asked in disbelief.

“_**He had a training session earlier,”**_ Error said, using his strings to grab a blanket to cover the softly snoring smaller Sans. _**“After one of those, he can sleep through **___**anything.**___**”**_

“I had, well... I thought I’d be having this talk with Blue,” said Dream with a small smile.

“_**I was about to leave when you arrived,”**_ said Error tiredly, sighing.

“...Error, I need to know the truth,” said Dream unhappily.

“_**It won’t make you happy, in fact it will make many people very unhappy,”**_ Error said, a strange calmness in his voice.

And then he summoned his soul.

His soul.

“Wha...” Dream said in disbelief.

“_**Yeah, there’s that,”**_ Error said to the shocked Dream.

“Wait... why does that soul feel like Ink?” Dream asked in disbelief.

“_**Because it is Ink’s soul,” **_Error said simply. He didn’t bother with pulling the soul back inside, knowing that Dream would not attack him while it was out.

“How is that possible!” Dream said in barely a whisper.

“_**It started a long time ago, when Ink was just the creator and alone... and had a soul,”**_ Error began.

_A very long time ago: _

The Creator, nicknamed Ink by those that knew of his existence, smiled as he looked at the code in front of himself. It was complicated and beautiful, he was using the basic code shape known as ‘Sans’ for this.

He rather liked the Sans code, they could go so many ways. In fact, the form he’d created for himself was based on the Sans code.

So it was very pleasing to him that the soon-to-be-born being in front of him would be a Sans too.

Humming, he adjusted the Sans to be a bit taller.

He paused with a sigh as he continued on, he had to be careful with this code, as this Sans would be staying by his side.

While he was the Creator god of this Multiverse, he was only a lowercase ‘g’ god, and those like him rarely interacted with each other. The Big ‘G’ Gods were all too busy to visit at all, and those above them the Incarnation... yeah, he was too low to even _meet_ one of those guys.

In the end he was lonely, as his creations were mortal, in the end they would die, and it was too rare for them to be comfortable around himself.

When was the last time he even talked to anyone? Oh, yes, twenty years ago when he had to fix the core code to Undertale.

The humans had just trapped the monsters within a barrier, deep underground, where time went much slower- in fact, it had the possibility to become a time loop if things played out a certain way.

The humans had almost corrupted their own AU with that stunt... Idiots.

“Well, the codes look good as they’re going to get. I’ll leave the personality blank to form on its own, now onto the soul,” Ink mumbled to himself, saving the new core codes.

He had to be careful- this soul would be special. After all, it would be different from a normal Sans’, being based off of his own.

A frown formed on his face as he fiddled with the soul’s specs, it had to be perfect- almost like a lower g was, but not one- he didn’t have the power to create another godling.

He didn’t want his soon-to-be friend to die too easily, or be lost to old age too quickly. Of course, they would have free will, though, so he could only hope the being he created wouldn’t decide to leave.

“That looks like it should work,” Ink murmured thoughtfully. He cleared up the extra data, leaving him in the Anti-Void, all alone but for the condensed data of his companion-to-be.

“Welp.. let’s do this,” he said nervously, pressing the godly version of the enter button on the code.

It quickly began to go wrong.

“Sh*t,” Ink said as the coding seemed to implode, the data cascading and being lost to the Void.

Yet, it was still trying to create the other’s soul.

What Ink didn’t realize that there was a reason any god, big, little, or Incarnations, didn’t create souls to close to their own. They couldn’t exist other then naturally born demigods.

“Wha!” Ink yelped as his own soul was forcefully summoned by the corrupting data.

Then, the final bit of data exploded.

Ink was ejected from the Anti-Void.

His soul stayed, though, the coding holding it in place.

The corrupted soul data fizzled out.

And Ink’s soul floated in the blankness, all alone in the Anti-Void.

There were so many other mistakes he could’ve made, so many things that could go wrong.

Yet it was Ink’s own ultimate creation that became his downfall.

They really should give new godlings classes on how things work, amirite?

“Oh my stars... that explains so much,” Dream moaned.

The undeniable fact that Ink’s soul was floating right in front of him led him to not even try to protest.

The golden-caped guardian started to panic as some things suddenly became so much clearer, while others were still about as clear as mud.

Dream was so shocked and alarmed that he started going into a panic attack.

“DREAM!” a voice shouted.

“Ink?” he said in surprise, looking around for his crush, yet... he wasn’t there.

“_**Dream, focus on my voice and **___**breathe**___**,”**_ Error said, Dream took a deep breath, calming himself.

“I thought I heard Ink?” Dream questioned.

“_**You did... well,**_ kinda,” said Error, the last word uncorrupted, and the voice so very familiar.

“You... sound like Ink, when your voice isn’t corrupted,” Dream said, his eyelights widening into enormous golden discs.

“It’s best for me to just continue explaining,” said Error, continuing on in... well, Ink’s voice.

He explained his own birth, the Balance, Ink’s ever-failing memory and the terrible choices that Error had been forced to make.

And, importantly, the fact only Ink could expand their multiverse. Without his soul and the knowledge of how to do so, the Multiverse would become too crowded and AUs would collide, causing a chain reaction of widespread destruction, with a horrifying death toll.

And the awkward moment, when Error explained that the main core of their being- which was Ink- had to accept his soul back.

The guardian of Positivity wanted to cry.

“This is a mess, and Ink can’t even remember day to day half the time. No reason you’re having such a hard time,” Dream finally said, his voice as dry as dust.

And... wow. That cleared up everything, some a bit too much so.

“Welcome to the club,” mumbled Blue’s sleepy voice from within the nest of blankets.

“We have cookies,” Error said, before actually passing him a chocolate chip cookie. “The chocolate will help, I promise.”


	9. Chapter Eight: Insert Title here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so tired posted this in blackout instead of shell.. blah

Ever rushing, ever moving, ever growing.

That was what true AUs were.

They creaked, they groaned at their weight in the multiverse.

They screamed _I am here_ to everything.

Error just stared and said back, ‘Yeah, don’t make me come over there.’

_We’ll be good. _

OoOoO

“He took that rather well,” Blue said sleepily, as a rather shell-shocked Dream left.

“It was that, or run screaming,” said Error, allowing his voice to remain uncorrupted. They were alone and he could sense Stretch several AUs over, so he had no fear of anyone else hearing.

“Tell me a story,” Blue said with a grin.

“A story, huh,” Error mused.

“About the other Multiverses, maybe even the Omniverses? I know there are other multiverses, not just ours,” Blue begged.

Moments later, Error told him a story of a Multiverse where Error was just Error, a god of Destruction, not part of Ink. Where whenever he was killed, he was forcefully incarnated among copious copies of AUs. Even death was temporary for that Error, he was trapped in a never-ending cycle.

Blue fell asleep again, wondering what his counterpart in that multiverse was like.

OoOoO

Three multiverses to the left:

Blue sneezed, briefly pausing what he was doing.

Then he pushed Error in the closet to hide him from Stretch.

“Blue... This body won’t shift to my Error form for years yet, he won’t know who I am,” Error said dryly.

“Sorry, it’s habit at this point,” Blue said blushing, letting his friend out of the closet.

Error sighed.

OoOoO

Error sighed, leaning his head back. The only sounds were the ticks of the living room clock and Blue’s soft breathing.

He stared at a wall blankly.

He could feel an invisible ticking clock.

One between him and Ink.

Choices were being made.

Placing his multicolored hand over his chest, he could feel the soul resting just below.

It yearned to return to Ink.

Return to sender, one could say.

An AU screamed as something surprising caused core corruption.

Seconds later, Blue was alone on the couch.

OoOoO

“_**Huh... this is still a pretty new AU,”**_ Error said, his voice back to its normal corrupted state.

Blessedtale only had a few copies, but even normal people didn’t need to see the code to see the corruption.

Sighing, he went to work.

OoOoO

“Dream, Error’s destroying an AU,” Ink called out, appearing in their base. They were the only ones there, Dream looking like he had also just gotten home.

“Right...” Dream said, frowning.

“Well, we gotta move quickly,” said Ink, slashing Broomie in an arc, paint streaming out to create a portal.

“Ink?” Dream said.

“Yes, Dream?” Ink asked, tilting his head in confusion .

“Never mind, it’s nothing,” said Dream, quickly stepping through the portal.

Ink blinked confusedly and followed.

OoOoO

Blue woke with a start.

“Error?” he called seeing he was alone.

He frowned, he had a weird feeling.

“Dammit,” he said, teleporting away from his AU.

OoOoO

It wasn’t the Judgement Hall that Error ended his run at, but the giant tree. He frowned, seeing the twisted form the corruption had forced it to take.

He didn’t know much about this AU, only that the original was located in a different multiverse.

“It only took a few minutes for my AU to twist,” said a young voice. Turning, he saw Blessedtale Sans.

As always, Blessedtale Sans’ age varied from copy to copy, this one looked to be about ten, untouched by the corruption.

“_**It can be fast or slow,”**_ Error admitted.

“As soon as it happened, I knew this AU was doomed,” Blessed sighed.

“_**I’m sorry, all I can do is destroy it,”**_ Error told him- Hey, if the kid wasn’t going to scream or fight, he might as well keep it polite.

“It is your duty after all, Ink will be here soon. The AU will last as long as this moment needs,” Blessed said, a strange smile crossing his face. Error stared at the other Sans, his eyelights widening a bit.

“Ah yes, I know. A few of the Blessed copies can see the codes of the multiverse, we can’t touch it like our original. But we know how this story goes,” Blessed replied.

“_**Wait, no one should have that information, how do you know so much?! Just seeing the codes shouldn’t be enough,”**_ Error said, the slightest hint of anger in his voice.

“Don’t worry, the stage is set and all the actors are almost here,” Blessed said, dusting himself.

Error was shocked, who destroys their own soul?!

And of course, that was when Dream and Ink arrived.

Because that’s how the story goes.

OoOoO

“This is where it ends Error!” Ink said.

Next to him, Dream felt like he’d rather be anywhere but there.

Like a tea party with Nightmare.

Wait... no... darn it, now he had that mental image in his head.

And he could _feel_ Nightmare’s disgust through their bond.

“_**Yes, this is where it will end. The final chapter, the book slamming closed,”**_ said Error in his corrupted, glitchy voice.

“Yes! Made it!” A cheerful voice shouted as Blue leapt from a portal, his war hammer swinging.

Dream facepalmed. This was getting ridiculous.

The AU continued to become more and more corrupted, pieces of the world breaking off and disintegrating.


	10. Chapter Nine: An End before a beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Snow has already threatened to write an alternate epilogue if this don't go well... i haven't even written the epilogue yet.

The invisible countdown was over.

To think, in the end it would come to this.

A battle in an AU that corrupted and fragmented around them, with many chunks having already disappeared, eaten by the eternally hungering void.

Yet...

Error felt something relax inside him.

This was it.

The end.

No more second chances.

No more silly plans.

His last lines of code had yet to run, it was time.

A smile split his face, he was ready for his final script to activate.

With that last thought on his mind, he leapt forward, strings already flying.

OoOoO

Ink leapt forward to meet Error in battle, paint flying with every swipe of Broomie.

He had felt out of it since their last meeting.

He barely noticed Dream joining the battle, and avoiding Blue’s rather OP hammer.

Or how they were edging away from them.

Or the fact neither were actually there to fight.

This was it.

What it was, he didn’t know.

OoOoO

“They haven’t even noticed we aren’t fighting anymore, have they,” Dream asked dryly, moving to avoid a falling of the large chunk of land that had begun vanishing out from under him.

“Nope,” Blue said cheerfully, tapping his hammer on the ground.

The soul-infused hammer created quite an impressive crater with the blow, barely needing any power behind it. Dream didn’t even want to imagine how much damage it could do if Blue was actually trying.

“The corrupted tree of feelings is a nice touch for a final battle, creepy though,” Dream said sadly, his mind going back to his long lost AU.

“I wonder what the Sans of this AU did to keep the AU going so long, usually when they become this corrupted they end up vanishing within minutes,” asked Blue, his insatiable curiosity rearing its head.

“It was a Blessedtale Sans, those guys are weird,” Dream said. He sighed, the Blessedtale Sans always seemed to find the universe hilarious no matter what age they were. They really were crazy, probably because they saw and knew far too much for a mere mortal.

“Time to move again,” Blue said quickly, moving twenty feet to the left. Right on cue, a paint attack hit where they’d been only milliseconds ago.

“We probably should evacuate really, we’re (read: Blue is) more in danger of being dusted by their missed attacks then the actual collapsing AU,” Dream said worriedly.

“Not yet,” said Blue. “I’m staying as long as I can. Both are my friends, and I want to see the end.”

Dream could see the unhappiness on the other’s face, and he understood why. After all, in the end, Error would cease to exist, and Ink would be whole.

Dream didn’t leave either.

OoOoO

It was strange, but Ink found himself smiling.

Every attack was met by attacks of equal power.

Everything was balanced.

This was how it should be.

Oh... he was crying.

Why was he crying?

His body seemed to be on autopilot, leaping and jumping around at speeds he rarely went.

Mostly because of... incidents.

There might’ve been a wall involved.

And maybe going through a whole building...

Dream still reminded him of it on occasion, just to mess with him.

He fixed the building, so could the guardian of positivity just stop reminding him of that incident already!

Error was smiling as well, but not the mad grin that sent armies running for the hills. It was a softer, sadder one.

Ink had never seen that smile before.

It reminded him of his own smile, when his paint vials allowed him to be happy.

“Why won’t you stay down? You just won’t die!” Ink called through the fighting.

Error actually laughed.

“The only way I can die, is if you take it back,” Error said bitterly.

“Wait... take what back?” Ink asked, bewildered.

The two were still fighting, but they slowed down, Ink staring down his other part with heterochromatic question-mark shaped eyelights.

“Just take it back,” Error replied with a smirk. “Then it’s your win.”

“Fine, I’ll take it back!” Ink yelled back, annoyed.

The world exploded into golden light.

Dream grabbed Blue and fled through a portal of his own.

“Goodbye, Error,” whispered Blue sadly as the portal closed.

OoOoO

He didn’t run.

He didn’t fight.

There was nothing to cause a fight or flight response.

The gold light was warm, and it seemed to be radiating from inside Error.

Error sighed and smiled at the other as Ink floated in the light, looking truly at peace for the very first time.

“Error?” Ink asked, confused as tears slipped down his face.

“I’m sorry, Inky. I would have preferred to live, but neither of us can continue to exist,” Error said.

Ink blinked. “Error, your voice...”

“Is yours,” Error replied, continuing in his non-corrupted voice. The AU was gone now, all that was left was Ink, Error, and the unending golden light.

“What now? That light... won’t allow us to fight?” Ink asked, utterly bewildered.

“It’s time, time for what was lost to be restored,” Error said, and somehow walked across the area between them.

As he walked, his glitchy body seemed to break away, leaving only a smaller golden figure standing there. A soul taken its true form. It was his own face looking back at him, his own soul staring him down.

“I’m sorry,” Ink whispered.

“It’s okay,” Error... his soul said, and gently kissed him on the forehead.

The golden light exploded.

OoOoO

Across the multiverse, the Sanses staggered. Moments later, every AU Reset.

Then...

It was quiet.


	11. Epilogue: Complete Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all, I wouldn't make it here without everyone's support.So on with the show (bows)

The god known as Ink was floating, in the empty space between here and there.

Becoming whole again was exhausting, so he’d needed to rest.

“Are you going to sleep away the whole day?” a voice asked.

“Shut up, Time,” Ink grumbled, waking up.

OoOoO

There hadn’t been a genocide run, or even a no mercy run in six months, not since the event that most had come to call the Golden Flash.

In fact, everywhere was rather peaceful.

Dream had seen some of the darker AU’s Sanses looking bewildered.

Yet... they weren’t causing trouble.

Oh, he knew they would in the future, they wouldn’t be able to resist.

But for now... it was calm.

Only Blue and himself knew why.

The multiverse was in balance again, its god was whole once more.

No one had seen Ink or Error in six months either.

This hurt more then either of them would admit.

Ink was a friend of both, and Blue had been close friends with Error.

“Stop taking so long and come home, Ink,” Dream cried to the sky.

It wasn’t a crush anymore, though. He had realized in the end that the feeling he had had towards the Creator, whatever it was, had been caused by his reaction to Ink’s powers.

“Stupid Inky, your friends are waiting!” Dream whispered sadly.

OoOoO

He moved in a place where body and gender didn’t exist, although he thought of himself as a him because he’d spent so long in a male body.

Or at least much as skeleton monsters had gender, anyway.

There was a lot of work, he was very behind.

If he had a mouth, he would have sighed.

There was so many things to do which he couldn’t do when he was incomplete.

For one thing, his two selves had been stuck in demi-mortal forms, unable to access the higher codes.

He gave a mental groan. This would take _forever._

He hoped everyone could wait a bit longer.

Wait, how in the name of the Omniverse did this code happen?!

Yeah... this would take awhile.

OoOoO

“Almost a year,” Blue said, the two were in Outertale, watching the gorgeous star-filled night skies.

Dream smiled sadly as a trio of shooting stars flew across the cosmos, memories of their trio of friends watching the stars here flickering through his mind.

“At least the AUs seem more normal,” Dream said. A few genocide and no mercy runs had started to pop up now, but were still much rarer than before.

Heck, no AUs had been created or destroyed since that day, and the darker Sanses were only causing chaos in their home AUs. Or at least the ones whose AUs still existed, that is.

Nightmare had actually talked to him without a battle breaking out.

Well, after throwing a tea kettle at him.

He really needed to learn to block out his link with Nighty again, his twin was always teasing him about the random stuff he thought of.

“Hey, we’re going to be late,” Blue said, skipping over. He had his blaster hammer strapped to his back, still glimmering from the time it held Inks soul, however short-lived that may have been.

“Right,” Dream responded after a moment.

The guardian of positivity opened a golden portal and the duo slipped inside.

A figure smiled, unseen and unheard.

Then they were gone.

OoOoO

The parasite known as Fresh wondered the Anti-Void. It seemed even emptier than before, as Error had been gone almost a full year. The blue strings still glowed above, holding their prizes of souls and puppets.

“Aha!” he said triumphantly, finding the rare puppet of himself.

Grabbing it, he grinned at the awesome mini-him, this one he would be careful with, as it was likely the last one he’d ever get. After all, Error was the one who made it, and... well, he was gone.

Suddenly, he spun around, looking around in confusion.

“Error?” Fresh called.

He swore he’d felt the grumpy skeleton.

Last he heard, the Destroyer had rejoined with Inky, and then they both vanished.

“Whoah!” he shouted as a huge wind hit him, throwing him into the air.

How the _funk_ was there wind in the anti-void?!

“Uh...” he said trailing off.

“I’m outta here,” he said and vanished with a poof.

Above, the strings, dolls and souls were gone.

Laughter briefly filled the air.

OoOoO

Geno blinked.

For a second, he’d thought he’d seen something out of the corner of his eye.

Then, he realized there was a plate on the ‘ground’ of the Save Screen.

On it, there was a beautifully fresh piece of pie.

“If this is a hint, I don’t get it!” the eternally bleeding monster yelled.

He spun around, and for a second he thought he saw a familiar tan scarf.

“Ink?” he called, bewildered.

But nobody answered.

OoOoO

“Having fun?” Classic asked, his constant smile even wider than usual.

“Sans, who are you talking to?!” Papyrus called.

Classic stared for a moment, then smirked.

“Nothing,” he said, and strolled away.

Laughter followed him.

OoOoO

“This was fun, a picnic between a whole bunch of the AUs is just what we needed,” Blue said, smiling. The blue-bandanna’d skeleton looked much happier then he had in months, the happiest he had since both Ink and Error had seemingly vanished.

“Yeah, it was very nice,” Dream replied, grinning. Then he realized that Blue had paused.

“Dream...” Blue said, trailing off, and pointed down the road.

Dream had to stare, two small dolls sat on a large rock. One looked to be modeled after Blue, and the other after himself.

The dolls were slightly dusty from passing vehicles, but despite that, Dream could sense the sheer power of the magic in them. It made him want to sneeze.

“These... have Error’s magic in them,” Blue said quietly, picking up his Doll. He gently touched the stitches keeping it together, taking comfort in the former destroyer’s magic.

“They’re definitely the ones from the Anti-Void,” Dream said, carefully picking up his own.

He admitted that it was very well made, but it was probably just Fresh messing with them- after all, the parasite was one of the only ones with the ability to even _get_ to the Anti-Void, and Error’s dolls were probably still there- not that anyone had checked since just after he and Ink had both disappeared.

“Dream, open a portal to base now!” Blue demanded.

“Why?” Dream asked, bewildered.

“Just do it,” Blue said firmly.

“Alright,” Dream said, still rather confused, but he opened a portal and Blue rushed through.

Quickly, he followed.

OoOoO

Blue rushed through the Star Sanses base, one that hadn’t been used in a long time... not since that day.

‘Too much dust,’ he thought irritatedly, he’d have to clean later.

The place was dark, but he didn’t need to see to get where he was going.

He paused in front of a brightly colored door, the door that led to the trio’s shared bedroom.

It had always seemed like a never ending sleepover.

Slowly, he opened the door, and a warm stream of light from the bedside lamp seeped out.

A figure sat in the middle bed, making a small doll... a Sans wearing a taco hat of all things.

‘Sweet! It actually exists!’ Blue silently cheered, he was _so_ going to visit!

“You’re late,” Blue said, startling the figure.

They looked up, and their ever changing eyelights briefly flickered to a familiar pair, with one being bicolored, integrity blue ringed by justice yellow, while the other was a solid justice yellow.

“Sorry,” Ink said with a tilted grin, one that a certain dark-boned skeleton used to give during his rare happy moments.

Blue growled, and punched the other before collapsing down on his bed, with its blue star-printed quilt. Dust flew into the air, and he coughed.

Ink fell back onto his own brightly colored and patterned bed, surprised by Blue’s punch.

“Okay, I deserved that,” Ink said, rubbing his face where the smaller skeleton had hit him.

“Very much deserved it,” added Dream, softly settling onto his own bed with its sunny yellow quilt.

“Hey, where’s Broomie?” Blue asked, not seeing the giant brush anywhere.

He also noted that the strings were appearing from nowhere, not from the eyes like they had for Error.

“I still have it, but I don’t really need it right now,” Ink said, smirking, before tossing the finished Taco Sans to Blue.

“I... was afraid, afraid that I’d lose both of you. I’m glad that not all of Error vanished,” Blue said, crying tears of happiness.

“_**Silly Blue, I just returned home,”**_ Ink said, his voice briefly corrupting.

“It’s going to be a bit weird, but I look forward to getting to know you again,” Dream finally said, still absorbing the new information.

“That’s all I ask, I still want to be friends. And now I don’t have to depend on my vials to feel emotions,” Ink said.

Huh... they hadn’t even noticed the vials were missing.

“Sounds fun,” Blue said happily, and the trio shared a smile.

It wouldn’t be easy, but they were the Star Sanses.

Friendship is their specialty.


End file.
